Friday, September 02, 2005

Appalachian by Design

The store I was minding last weekend is called Appalachian by Design. Their stock-in-trade is knitwear made by rural women at home in Greenbrier County and assembled in Lewisburg. They make quality cotton knit baby clothes and women's woolen knit suits and separates. They don't sell over the Internet yet, but they list stores that carry their products.

The boutique at the Greenbrier is starting to sell some handknitting products, and while I was there, they asked me to knit this Debby Ware kit so they could have an in-store model. In my 40-year knitting history, this is the first thing I ever made from a kit. For most of my life I've been a knitter on a budget, and kits are more expensive than yarn and patterns bought at close-out time. Nowadays, I usually make up my own patterns, so I'm even less likely to buy a kit. However, if you're interested in my opinion, this pattern had interesting design features, enough yarn to make a second hat (in case you've got twins), and good, easy-to-read directions. It was an enjoyable project, but not a conversion experience for me.

Cupcake Beanie Kit by Debby Ware, cover photo

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